Raoul II de Tosny seigneur de

Conches-en-Ouche Conches-en-Ouche (, literally ''Conches in Ouche'') is a commune in the Eure ''département'' in northern France. Geography It is located by the Rouloir river, southwest of Évreux in the Normandy region. The town is located on a plateau known a ...

(1027 - died 9 April 1102) was a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

nobleman of the

House of Tosny The House of Tosny was an important noble family in 10th and 11th century Normandy, though it did not include any comtes or vicomtes. Its founder was Raoul I of Tosny (died after 1024). Origin The earliest account of the origin of the Tosny fami ...

, son of

Roger I of Tosny Roger I of Tosny or Roger of Hispania (died c. 1040) was a Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny who took part in the Reconquista of Iberia. Career Roger was the son of Raoul I of Tosny, seigneur de Conches. In 1013, Roger and his father Raoul ...

and older brother of

Robert de Stafford Robert de Stafford ( 1039 – c. 1100) (''alias'' Robert de Tosny/Toeni, etc.) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, the first feudal baron of Stafford in Staffordshire in England, where he built as his seat Stafford Castle. His many landholdings are li ...

/ Tosny. He was active in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Hastings in 1066

He is one of the few proven

companions of William the Conqueror William the Conqueror had men of diverse standing and origins under his command at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. With these and other men he went on in the five succeeding years to conduct the Harrying of the North and complete the Norman conqu ...

known to have fought at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

in 1066. Tradition says he gave up the role of

standard bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

, his hereditary office, to Walter Giffard, in order to be able to fight closer to

William, duke of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

Feud

Raoul became embroiled in a feud with

William, Count of Évreux William, Count of Évreux (died 16 April 1118) was a powerful member of the Norman aristocracy during the period following the Norman conquest of England. He is one of the few documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Ha ...

due to a disagreement between William's wife Helvise de Nevers and his wife, Isabel. This came to open war in 1091–92, when William attacked Conches. A settlement was reached. They later co-operated in attacking

Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan ( – 5 June 1118), also known as Robert of Meulan, was a powerful Norman nobleman, one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England ...

county of Meulan The county of Meulan, in Normandy, France, appeared as an entity within the region of the Vexin when the otherwise unknown Count Waleran established an independent power base on a fortified island in the River Seine, around the year 1020. Waleran' ...

. Raoul had widely spread holdings, his seat was at

Flamstead Flamstead is a village and civil parish in north-west Hertfordshire, England, close to the junction of the A5 and the M1 motorway at junction 9. The name is thought by some historians to be a corruption of the original ''Verulamstead''. Flams ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, while he held lands in western Gloucestershire. He was granted

Clifford Castle Clifford Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Clifford which lies 2.5 miles to the north-east of Hay-on-Wye in the Wye Valley in Herefordshire, England (). It was the ''caput'' of the feudal barony of Clifford, a Marcher Lordship (owing a ...

, and it is also believed that he held assets in the village of Hose, Leicestershire, which was split into two manors, Tosny's and that of the title holder of the Norman

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

Family

Raoul married Isabel de Montfort, daughter of

Simon I de Montfort Simon I de Montfort ( 1025 – 25 September 1087) was a French nobleman. He was born in Montfort l'Amaury, in the Duchy of Normandy, and became its lord. He was the son of Amaury I de Montfort and Bertrade. At his death he was buried about away i ...

. They had: *Roger, died young. *

Raoul IV de Conches Raoul III of Tosny (1079-1126), Lord of Conches-en-Ouche (A commune in the Eure département in northern France), was an Anglo-Norman nobleman of the House of Tosny. Life Born in 1079, Raoul was the son of Raoul II of Tosny and Isabel de Montfort ...

, married

Alice of Huntingdon Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, daughter of

Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria ( enm, Wallef, on, Valþjóf) (died 31 May 1076) was the last of the Anglo-Saxon earls and the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I. Early life Waltheof was the second son of Siwa ...

, and

Judith of Lens Judith of Lens (born in Normandy between 1054 and 1055, died c1090) was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens. Life In 1070, Judith married Ea ...

. *Godehilde married

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorr ...

Other sources also say she married

Robert de Neubourg Robert I de Neubourg (died 1159) was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat. He was the fourth son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick, and inherited his father's Normandy lands, holding Neubourg (today Le Neubourg, near Louviers, Eure) from Waleran ...

, son of

Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick or Henry de Newburgh (died 20 June 1119) was a Norman nobleman who rose to great prominence in the Kingdom of England. Origins Henry was a younger son of Roger de Beaumont by Adeline of Meulan, daughter of ...

- William of Jumièges mentions this marriage and states that she was the daughter of 'Raoul II' de Tosny. Perhaps she married both men, unless William of Jumièges and others have made a mistakeWilliam of Jumièges - ''Histoire des Normands, par Guillaume de Jumiège. — Vie de Guillaume-Le-Conquérant, par Guillaume de Poitiers''. — published in 1826 within ''Collection des Mémoires Relatifs à l’histoire De France. Depuis la Fondation de la Monarchie Française jusqu’au 13e Siècle'', by M. Guizot, Professeur D’histoire Moderne A L’académie De Paris (Chez J.-L.-J. Brière, Libraire, Rue Saint-André-Des-Arts, No. 68). Page 308: "''Il prit pour femme la sœur de Roger du Ternois, fille de Raoul II, nommée Godechilde''Bold text" (Note: William of Jumièges used the spelling 'de Ternois' and 'de Toëni' for the 'de Tosny' family)

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * 1102 deaths Anglo-Normans in Wales Companions of William the Conqueror Norman warriors People from Flamstead Year of birth unknown {{Normandy-stub